"Right now we're like the Germans in World War II," Dooley said. "Here comes the boats, they're coming. You have the binoculars, and it's like, 'Oh, my God, the invasion is coming.' "

"Figuring out how to stop the
'Cocks this weekend, I feel likeJonas Salk trying to stop polio."

Actually, it's more like, "Oh, my God -- he's not really making this comparison, is he? Yes, he did. And he didn't stop there:

"I don't want the German people to get upset at me. I'm not attacking them, but that's what happened. You had one group, they weren't worried about what the plan was and orders and all that. When the war hits, things change. You've got to go," said Dooley.

"You had the other group, and they go, 'Wait a minute, they told us the invasion was way further north,' where we had the empty tanks and we were hiding Patton out. 'We weren't ready for this, now what do we do?' 'We better wait until Rommel tells us what to do.' "

Oh, man. Gotta love the inflated sense of self-importance.

Well, I don't think Dooley has to worry about the German people getting upset with him. But he might want to consider the parents of the 19-year-old kid who isn't on a college campus this fall watching college football because he's fighting for his country on a mountainside in Kandahar. And the stakes, as much as this might come as a surprise to some coaches and athletes, are just a tad bit higher.

Look, college football ain't war. It's a game. A great game. An exciting game. My favorite game. But still just a game.

Thus, while Derek Dooley's biggest worry is South Carolina on Saturday, a bunch of 18-22 year olds - the same ages as his players - are simply hoping that the abandoned tire they're approaching on the side of the dirt road isn't hiding an IED.

So keep it in perspective, coach. To do otherwise dishonors the service of our uniformed men and women who would give anything for their biggest worry this weekend to be whether or not their favorite team won or lost.

8 comments:

To me, the most amusing aspect of this is that Dooley really isn't comparing his team to the German WWII military, but to the German WWII military as portrayed in Darryl F Zanuck's epic production of "The Longest Day."

So, Tennessee, not that good at mathematics and learns history from the movies.

And, when does Dooley find the time, that movie is almost three hours long?

But it wasn't actually Rommel that kept his tanks near Calais, it was Hitler. So is the Tennessee coach in this case comparing himself to Rommel or Hitler? but it doesn't matter as its a bad comparison.

Yost, I agree his comparison was tasteless and ill-conceived. He could have really registered with his Tennessee audience if he said something like, "Here comes the revenuers, they're coming for our moonshine. You have the binoculars, and it's like, 'Oh, my God, the revenuers is coming.' Should we battle them at Cooters Hollow natural bridge or Old Man Potter's woods? Our moonshine shall be saved!"

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